Gene Porter, of Dixie’s BBQ, dies at age 71

If you ever met "The Man," then you know Gene Porter. The owner of Dixie’s BBQ in Bellevue, Porter was famous for his hot sauce – REALLY hot sauce – that he would offer customers on a toothpick to try. Those who survived received a bumpersticker that said "I met ‘The Man’ at Dixie’s BBQ."

Mr. Porter died Sunday of cancer. He was 71.

Porter and his wife, Dixie, opened Dixie’s BBQ in 1994 in a converted auto-repair shop on Northup Way that still says "Porter’s Automotive." Porter opened that business in 1970.